The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for editing recognized words entered into a pen-based computer system.
Computerized personal organizers are becoming increasingly popular with a large segment of the population. Computerized personal organizers tend to be small, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive, and can perform such functions as keeping a calendar, an address book, a to-do list, etc. While many of these functions can also ;be provided in conventional computer systems, personal organizers are very well suited to the personal organization task due to their small size :and portability. Personal organizers are available from such companies as Sharp and Casio of Japan.
A relatively new form of computer, the pen-based computer system, holds forth the promise of a marriage of the power of a general purpose computer with the functionality and small size of a personal organizer. A pen-based computer system is typically a small, hand-held computer where the primary method for inputting data includes a "pen" or stylus. A pen-based computer system is commonly housed in a generally rectangular enclosure, and has a dual-function display assembly providing a viewing screen along one of the planar sides of the enclosure. The dual-function display assembly serves as both an input device and an output device. When operating as an input device, the display assembly senses the position of the tip of a stylus on the viewing screen and provides this positional information to the computer's central processing unit (CPU). Some display assemblies can also sense the pressure of the stylus on the screen to provide further information to the CPU. When operating as an output device, the display assembly presents computer-generated images on the screen.
The dual-function display assemblies of pen-based computer systems permit users to operate the computer as a computerized notepad. For example, graphical images can be input into the pen-based computer by merely moving the stylus on the surface of the screen. As the CPU senses the position and movement of the stylus, it generates a corresponding image on the screen to create the illusion that the stylus is drawing the image directly upon the screen, i.e. that the stylus is "inking" an image on the screen. The stylus can therefore be used to enter "ink objects" into the computer system. With suitable recognition software, these ink objects can be recognized and converted into word objects, graphical objects, etc.
While word recognition software has steadily improved, it is still a fairly frequent occurrence that an ink object is misrecognized and replaced with an incorrectly "recognized" object. For example, an ink object representing a word may be incorrectly recognized as a different word than the one intended. The word object must then be edited or erased to replace the incorrect word object with the word object that the user intended. The correction of improperly recognized word objects can be a time consuming and frustrating task, particularly if several attempts have to be made to finally produce the correct word object.